It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am in a serious relationship with nature! I love every aspect of everything about it. The sights, smells, even the texture of all that is natural and pure. As a kid, I collected rocks and stones (I still have some of my collection!) and as an adult, I wake up in the morning excited to get my trail running sneakers on and get them moving on my favorite trails. Thanks to my ankle injury, I haven’t been able to walk properly, let alone hike since late September and I am constantly getting “oh man, you must be restless not being able to hike!” And you know what? I am!! To be unable to enjoy something so simple and so genuine puts a lot in perspective. For one, after every hike, walk or run, I would always, always return back to my car and take a minute to thank God for the ability to do what I just did. There’s a lot we can take for granted in life. I can honestly say that not once, even for a moment did I ever take my physical abilities for granted. Being so grateful has helped me through this injury because I figure that even if I can never hike again, I know that I took every bit of my past hikes and runs in and enjoyed each moment to the absolute maximum. That being said, I do still cope (daily) with not being able to hike my thoughts, worries, stress, etc. away on my favorite trails…so when nature comes to me at home, I am beside myself!

My father taught me from a young age how to get our backyard birds to trust us enough to eat seeds out of our hands and to this day, I still get a kick out of it!! My family and friends always say that when I’m interacting with an animal, I get this “happy face” that is unlike any other and it cannot be re-created due to sheer realness…and when I’m standing there in the yard with my hand out, full of seeds, and a little guy flutters down and perches on me, I can feel the cheesy happy smile bust out!! It’s so beautiful, peaceful and wholesome. Of all the bad in the world, these sweet little guys remind you that there are so many pretty and tender things still out there to be enjoyed and to remind you that life is a wonderful, beautiful thing if only you choose to see it.

So this weekend the forecasters were actually right and we did get as much, if not more snow than was expected! Our part of New York got about 7 inches and as of 11am the next morning, the snow was still falling which only meant one thing: photoshoot! So I broke out my tripod, got my settings perfect, bundled myself up and headed out with Teddy. Less than enthusiastic about taking photos in general, Teddy was quite the difficult subject and finally, after dozens upon dozens of attempts, we got some real, fun, lovable shots!

Finally, a sweet-faced portrait! P.S. look at that pretty snow!

…and the moment’s gone

Dog smiles!

While Teddy was taking his required diva breaks, I had the time of my life taking photos around the yard (I almost never take photos for fun anymore!) and took in the beauty of the pure whiteness around us.

Little bird footprints! I love it

I first photographed the sweet Chickadees landing on my hand about 10 years ago and was instantly hooked. Each bird has a very different personality and temperament and capturing those characteristics is half the thrill of having them land on you in the first place! I try to go into it with the 50/50 experience….50% of the time I shoot and see if I can get a great shot and 50% of the time I put my phone or camera away and simply enjoy the experience. When you are witnessing something through a viewfinder, you’re not truly experiencing it. Viewing? Yes. Living? Usually not. There are certain times when the photos I manage to capture propel me into absolute awe and help me fall in love with the experience even more! So with that in mind, it has been a goal of mine forever to get footage of Chickadee touchdown. I’ll never know what was stopping me, but today I filled my hand with seed, set up my camera (and by setting up I mean resting it on my forearm! Best trick ever!) and waited. I was on the verge of a tiny bit of frustration when I heard a familiar little chirp on the branch next to me and after being nervously dive-bombed by tiny wings several times, trust was established and I was able to capture one of my simplest pleasures in life and share it with you.

Nature is for all. You don’t need to be wealthy or smart or pretty or know where in life you’re headed to enjoy nature. The most common misconception is that you must go to nature. Nature exists every place on Earth and can be found anywhere (yes, anywhere!) by those who truly love and seek it. There’s a lot to life but we get out of it what we put in. If you walk a hiking trail looking for strength, you can choose to leave that trail with strength, or you can choose to leave exactly how you came. No matter what you choose to take from your experiences, choose something good and come back with something gained or understood. Standing, perfectly still and waiting for these tiny, wild birds to land on me forces me to be alone in my own mind, with my own thoughts and worries without reacting physically (stress loves to do that to us all). Find what brings you peace and submerge yourself!

And with that, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Chickadee portraits of all time

Have some faith, trust, take a deep breath, and leap!

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